Display device



N ,1 w. JORGENSEN 3,35 ,805

DI SPLAY DEVICE w W I Filed May 20, 1965 a.a?222E???2 United States Patent Office 3,350,805 DISPLAY DEVICE Irving W. Jorgensen, 800 River Bend Drive, RR. 3, Owosso, Mich. 48867 Filed May 20, 1965, Ser. No. 457,319 2 Claims. (Cl. 40-125) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display device such as an advertising sign or the like, in which a plastic base sheet is provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive on the back side thereof for mounting on a bumper or other surface. Removable indicia in strip form are provided so that separate sections thereof bearing an indica or letter can be cut out and mounted on the base sheet by pressure sensitive adhesive which is provided thereon. The indica strip section may be readily separated from the plastic surface of the base sheet. Further, the strip on which the indicia are printed has the same background coloration as the area of the base sheet on which the indicia are mounted so that the indicia will give the impression that they are printed directly on the mounting area of the base sheet.

This invention relates to display devices and particularly to a sign or the like having interchangeable plates or other indicia.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device in which at least a portion of the information displayed on the device may be selected by the user and changed from time to time.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a display device having interchangeable numbers or the like in which the numbers may be selected and changed with a minimum of difficulty.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a display device on which printed letters or the like may be arranged in any desired manner and which eliminates the necessity for intricate cutting out of the letters to be displayed.

Among other objects of the present invention is the provision of a display device of the above character which is inexpensive of manufacture, neat in appearance, reliable in use, resistant to weather, and adaptable to a wide variety of applications.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a bumper sticker forming a part of the device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a printed sheet adapted to be used in conjunction with the bumper sticker of FIG. 1 in forming a part of the device of the present invention taken along the line 33 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated FIG. 1 taken along the line 4-4 thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is illustrated in the form of a bumper sticker on which interchangeable letters or the like can be mounted. The bumper sticker 10 consists of a base sheet 12 made of vinyl or other plastic material, which has a pressure sensitive adhesive 14 applied to its back side. The adhesive 14, which remains tacky throughout the useful life of the device, is protected during shipment and storage by a paper 16 having a release coating 18 on one side thereof which is made from silicon or other suitable material. The coated paper 16 is readily removable from the sheet 12 to expose the adhesive 14. The side of the vinyl sheet 12 opposite from the adhesive 14 is printed to define various permanent letters or other indicia 20 and to define a background area 22 of a given color on which interchange letters or indicia are adapted to be mounted as shown in broken lines at 24.

The bumper sticker 10 is designed to be distributed in kit form together with one or more indicia bearing sheets 26. The sheet 26 has a background color 28 which is first printed over all of one side of the sheet. A plurality of letters or other indicia 30 are then printed on the sheet 26 over the background color 28. The letters 30 are desirably arranged side by side in a straight row. The color 28 is selected to correspond identically with the color of the background area 22 for a purpose to be described. The sheet 26 has an adhesive coating 32 on its back side which is protected during shipment and storage by a paper 34 having a release coating 36.

In order to use the bumper sticker 10 the sheet 26 is cut to separate a plurality of selected letters 30 from the remainder of the sheet, thereby enabling the user to make up a name or other information to be placed on the background area 22. It will be seen that the sheet 26 is of an elongated configuration and possesses a very short height, only slightly greater than the height of the letters 30. By this means a selected letter 30 can be separated from the rest of the sheet 26 by not more than two straight cuts with a pair of scissors. Due to the fact that the color 28 of the sheet 26 surrounding each letter 30 is the same as the color of the background area 22, it will blend into the background area 22 and will be indistinguishable from it at a distance. It is, therefore, unnecessary to cut out carefully around each letter 30. Rectangular sections of the sheet 26 containing a desired letter 30 can be cut out and affixed to the bumper sticker 10 without any appearance of sloppiness and the letters 30 will give the impression that they were printed directly on the bumper sticker 10.

After the desired letters 30 have been cut out, that portion of the paper 34 which was cut out with each letter is removed to expose the adhesive on the back of each cut-out section. Each cut-out section is pressed on to the background area 22 in a general arrangement as suggested at 24 in FIG. 1. The letters 30 will cling to the bumper sticker 10 with sufiicient strength to prevent any inadvertent dislodgment. However, the letters 30 can be peeled off the bumper sticker 10 and the name or other information displayed can be changed from time to time.

The particular display device illustrate-d herein will be seen to be a novelty item, and permits the display of various individuals names in a humorous manner. It will be apparent, however, that the invention may be embodied in a variety of different display devices intended to convey any desired information and used for many different applications. In the particular embodiment illustrated herein, for example, the names displayed may be changed frequently and the entire bumper sticker 10 can be removed from one vehicle and installed on another with ease. Because the sheet 12 is plastic, the letters 30 very readily peel off of it without tending to damage the bumper stricker. Furthermore, the sheets 12 and 26, being made of plastic, are highly weather resistant and the device should enjoy a long useful life. While that portion of the sheet 26 shown in the drawings contains only part of the letters of the alphabet, all letters of the alphabet are What is claimed is:

1. A display device including a base sheet having a plastic mounting surface, said mounting surface having a first area bearing permanent printing and a second area of a given color which does not bear printing, a second sheet having one side of said given color with indicia printed thereon and an opposite side provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive, said second sheet being of a material that is readily cut whereby it may be cut into sections each of which contains a separate indicia and said sections mounted on said second area so as to lie wholly within said second area and give the visual impression that said indicia are printed on said second area.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 in which said indicia are arranged in rows and said second sheet is of a height less than the height of said second area and of a 4 height only slightly greater than said indicia whereby said indicia may be separated from one another by straight vertical cut therebetween.

5 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,772,697 8/1930 Backmeyer 40-125 1,777,144 9/1930 Innes 283-1 1,830,960 11/1931 Philibert 40125 10 2,274,192 2/1942 Deaton 40-140 2,434,545 1/1948 Drady 40-125 3,099,947 8/1963 Pottse 40140 W. J. CONTRERAS, Examiner. 

1. A DISPLAY DEVICE INCLUDING A BASE SHEET HAVING A PLASTIC MOUNTING SURFACE, SAID MOUNTING SURFACE HAVING A FIRST AREA BEARING PERMANENT PRINTING AND A SECOND AREA OF A GIVEN COLOR WHICH DOES NOT BEAR PRINTING, A SECOND SHEET HAVING ONE SIDE OF SAID GIVEN COLOR WITH INDICIA PRINTED THEREON AND AN OPPOSITE SIDE PROVIDED WITH A PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE, SAID SECOND SHEET BEING OF A MATERIAL THAT IS READILY CUT WHEREBY IT MAY BE CUT INTO SECTIONS EACH OF WHICH CONTAINS A SEPARATE INDICIA AND SAID SECTIONS MOUNTED ON SAID SECOND AREA SO AS TO LIE WHOLLY WITHIN SAID SECOND AREA AND GIVE THE VISUAL IMPRESSION THAT SAID INDICIA ARE PRINTED ON SAID SECOND AREA. 